Synthesis and metal complexation properties of bisbenzospiropyran chelators in water

As a step towards developing a light-controlled reversible binding switch based on photochromic bisbenzospiropyran for investigating intracellular calcium signaling, substituted bisbenzospiropyran and phenolic chelators were synthesized and examined for metal binding strength. The complexation of these compounds with alkaline earth and zinc ions in methanol and buffer was characterized using NMR and luminescence spectroscopies. An increased length of convergent ligands on the rigid scaffold maintained binding affinity for Ca2+ but decreased selectivity for Ca2+ over Mg2+. Results indicate that at least three carboxylate ligands are required for significant binding, and increased length of the ligands will result in a fully water-soluble photoswitch that exhibits two states with approximately 300-fold difference in binding affinity for Ca2+.